Year 2012

CHENNAI: Mathura Natarajan, 23, was at the Adyar Cancer Institute on Sunday evening with her mother, to celebrate what she calls her "rebirth" and "second chance at life". This was the 11th successive year that she was attending the Cancer Survivors Day function at the hospital and, with 200 other survivors, took the opportunity to thank the doctors who saved her life and promise to spread awareness on the importance of early detection and treatment of the disease.

Mathura began developing small sores around her eyes and tongue in April, 1999. The sores soon began leaving bloodstains and she had bouts of vomiting. When her parents rushed her to the Child's Trust Hospital, the blood tests confirmed their worst fears.